Motorcycle auction yields $52,000 for Veterans Count

fosters.com

Writer

Posted Jan. 31, 2014 at 3:15 AM

Posted Jan. 31, 2014 at 3:15 AM

PORTSMOUTH — The recent Barrett-Jackson live auction, which aired on Fox Sports, brought in $52,000 to Veterans Count, a program of Easter Seals NH. Veterans Count provides emergency funding to New Hampshire veterans and their families.

DIRICO Motorcycles USA, located in Manchester (www.diricomotorcycles.com), handcrafted a series of four custom motorcycles for auction, each themed for a different military branch with one-of-a-kind artwork. Two of them, the Black Hawk Down and U.S. Marine Corps bikes, went to the highest bidder on Sunday, January 19. The remaining two, along with a custom Harley-Davidson trike which pays tribute to Women in the Military, will be auctioned by Barrett-Jackson from Palm Beach, Florida, between April 11th – 13th.

Colonel Danny McKnight (U.S. Army, Ret), national spokesperson for Veterans Count and co-commander of ground forces in Mogadishu, Somalia during the incident known as Black Hawk Down, spoke about the Black Hawk Down bike and Veterans Count on live television after which the auctioneer opened the bidding. Two minutes later the Black Hawk Down Bike was sold for $26,000.

Steve Talarico of DIRICO introduced the U.S. Marine Corps bike to the bidders. Bidding for this bike stalled at $14,000 until Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson, stepped forward to make the final bid of $26,000. He then donated the U.S. Marine Corps tribute bike back to Veterans Count and will re-auction it in April at the Palm Beach Auction.

All proceeds from the motorcycle sales will allow Veterans Count to provide emergency financial assistance to service members for housing, utilities, food, child care, medical bills, transportation, and more.

For further details about each bike, becoming a bidder and auction dates, please visit www.barrett-jackson.com.

For more information about Veterans Count events, services or to make a donation, please visit www.vetscount.org